


Teddy Bear Keychain

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 04:32:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11866782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Shadow wins Darko a toy from the claw game. Based on the fact that Darko has a teddy bear keychain on his bag. Shadow belongs to Shadowlord13.





	Teddy Bear Keychain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shadowlord13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowlord13/gifts).



Darko kicked the cursed machine, grumbling, as the teddy bear keychain fell, once more, out of the metal claw's grip. He'd thought that a toy with a loop of metal hanging off of it would be easier to obtain, but apparently not. An alarm blared, and a mechanical voice yelled at him to "Not shake the machine".

"Oh, I can do far worse than that," said Darko with a growl as he raised his hands up. But then, a slimmer hand grabbed one of his hands.

"Darko, let me try," said Shadow, gently pushing him aside.

"This machine is rigged," said Darko, folding his arms in front of his chest and stepping away to watch his girlfriend.

"No it's not, you just need some skills," said Shadow, slipping some coins into the machine and gripping the joystick. She moved the claw over the teddy so that one of the prongs was on either side of it, and then she pressed the button to drop the claw. Darko chuckled as the toy dropped from the claw and Shadow cursed under her breath.

"Do you possess these skills?" asked Darko. Shadow directed the smaller claw to grab some wrapped candies, and Darko grabbed one out of the candy chute and ate it.

"It just takes a while sometimes," said Shadow, gritting her teeth as her second attempt also resulted in failure. But at least she'd have some candy, if Darko would let her have any.

"Would you be terribly upset if I destroyed this machine?" asked Darko, leaning against the side of the machine. The alarm went off again, and Shadow sighed.

"Don't tilt the machine, Darko," said Shadow, repeating the machine's warning. "Now I wasted a turn, I hope you're happy." She inserted another coin, and Darko stepped well away from the machine.

"Sorry," said Darko. "I didn't think that I'd tilt it. This machine just doesn't like me."

"Well, it has terrible taste," said Shadow. She cursed slightly louder as the claw dropped the toy for the fourth time, and someone nearby turned and glared at her, putting her hands over her son's ears.

"Perhaps I should have another try?" asked Darko.

"No, go away, you're distracting me," said Shadow. "Go get a slushie or something."

"Would you like one too?" asked Darko.

"Yes please," said Shadow, turning to smile at him, and then she turned back and growled as her time ran out and the claw attempted to grab a larger stuffed dolphin. Naturally, the claw dropped this heavier toy immediately.

Darko left the arcade, squinting to see in the brighter light outside. He almost felt like hissing like the vampire that Shadow often (jokingly) accused him of being. But instead, he walked over to a nearby food shop after his eyes had adjusted. The clerk couldn't seem to stop staring at him.

"Who made Hot Topic into a person?" some other employee said, and Darko scowled at him. The service in this place was simply abysmal. Darko hadn't been to Hot Topic for a long time, anyway, not since he'd been banned for banishing someone to Pandoria just so he could get the last badge that he really wanted. He sometimes regretted it, but the little unicorn badge on his bag made it all worth it.

As Darko walked back to the arcade carrying the two drinks, he felt triumphant, as though he'd just done something great. And it had taken a great deal of restraint to not smite everyone who made a smart remark at him. But if he'd done that, he wouldn't have been able to get the frozen drinks that Shadow had requested. Someone had to operate the machine, after all.

There was quite a crowd gathered around one of the machines in the arcade, and at first Darko couldn't see his girlfriend. She wasn't at the claw machine, where he'd expected her to be. But then, someone in the crowd moved and Darko caught a glimpse of long, curly brown hair streaked with gold. The crowd seemed very excited about something.

"Oh my god, she's almost got it," a girl murmured, holding her hands over her heart as though she was witnessing something extraordinary. Darko looked at the machine, trying to figure out what game his girlfriend was trying to master. It seemed to be a game made up of square blocks, with some lit up and others left dark. On the very top row were the words 'Major Prize', and, just below this row, a little lit-up square was rapidly flashing along the row from one end to the other. 

Shadow bit her lip in concentration, the entire world fading away but for that one little flashing blue square. She hit the button with trembling fingers, and heard a gasp from behind her. She didn't know who it had come from, though. Nor did she care, not when she was this close. Timing it just right, Shadow hit the button and grinned as the crowd cheered and the machine let out a loud noise of jubilation, the final square sitting right on top of the pile. Shadow selected her prize, and grabbed it out of the chute before turning around.

Everyone in the crowd was cheering and congratulating her, some patting her on the shoulder or just otherwise touching her as if to catch some of her luck.

"It's just skill," said Shadow when people asked her how she won. Her entire body was humming with adrenaline, so, when she saw Darko, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

"Congratulations," said Darko. "Here is a drink for a reward."

"Thanks, I'm parched," said Shadow, taking a large slurp of the frozen drink through the straw after grabbing it from Darko. Then, she walked over to the prize counter with the empty box, waiting while the clerk congratulated her and rummaged beneath the counter for the real prize.

"Did you get my prize?" asked Darko, following her.

"Yeah, the second you left," said Shadow. "Hold on." She put her drink down on the counter, and rummaged in her shoulder bag until she pulled out a little plush bear. "Ta-da!"

"Oh, you finally managed to beat the thing," said Darko, taking it from her. He smiled. "Thank you."

While Shadow looked over her prize (a portable DVD player because Darko didn't possess a DVD player. Or a TV. Or anything remotely interesting), Darko carefully parted the rings of the keyring and threaded it through the shoulder strap clip on his bag. Once it was on, he smiled at the little toy.

"Alright, we ready to go now?" asked Shadow. "I was victorious at those two machines, but I'm worried that my luck will run out. Or that I'll accidentally end up wasting all my money on games."

"There is no price that can be put on victory," said Darko.

"Darko, we came here with a hundred dollars," said Shadow. "We have none left now. That's a price, if you ask me."

"Perhaps you are right," said Darko. He looked around at the machines. "Oh, what's this one?"

"No way, I'm not playing DDR with you," said Shadow.

"Oh, but please," said Darko. "Just one last game, and then we can go."

"No," said Shadow. "We'll come back to the arcade next weekend."

"Oh, fine," said Darko. "I suppose that we do have other important things to be getting on with."

"Yep," said Shadow. "And I have to set up my portable DVD player and show you some good movies." She took a wrapped candy out of her bag, then unwrapped it and ate it.

"Can I have one?" asked Darko.

"No, you ate them all last time," said Shadow. "I'll give you one when we get home."

"If there's any left," Darko grumbled.

"That's the spirit," said Shadow, smiling at him.

At their training session the next week, Shadow had to smile upon seeing Darko show up with the teddy bear keychain on his bag.


End file.
